Metro Atlanta firefighters help devastated Ringgold

By Steve Visser

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

RINGGOLD -- Marietta Fire Lt. Robert Luby and his team were going house to house Saturday in a mop-up search and to verify addresses and residents -- at least those that could be verified -- after a tornado destroyed this parcel of Catoosa County.

There were signs of hope at the homes that appeared salvageable as owners, family, friends and volunteers busied themselves with the cleanup. But many other of the once-substantial homes already seemed abandoned.

"The ones that are destroyed there is nobody there," Luby said. "And you really can't blame them."

Luby and three Marietta firefighters were lunching with counterparts from Atlanta, Cherokee and Clayton county fire departments at a small church that was serving food to emergency workers and volunteers. Marietta has sent teams since Thursday.

"I would say everybody from Atlanta and farther north have sent teams," Luby said. "Even Walker County sent someone even though they have damage of their own."

The firefighters were working on Cherokee Valley Road in which groves of pines and hardwoods were mowed over and house after house  was crushed. Volunteers from around North Georgia, such as the Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church's disaster team from Dalton, also pitched in to help.

Otherwise Catoosa County sheriff deputies were still cordoning off the area to outsiders although residents were being allowed to freely pass.

Atlanta Fire Lt. Bret Bieri said the day's work had been fairly uneventful. Firefighters have to walk to some of the residences because downed trees still block some roads and long driveways. All appeared to have been searched at least once, Bieri said.

"All we're doing is making sure everybody is OK," he said.

By early Saturday afternoon, the only rescue was of a dog who had gotten separated from his owner, an elderly woman who lived alone on the road, firefighters said.

A couple brought the dog to the firefighter staging area and said they had found it.  A commander of an unnamed department decided the best course of action was to call Catoosa County animal control -- but soon a consensus developed that was too risky, at least for the dog.

Firemen may no longer travel with firehouse dogs but they still have a fondness for lost mutts, it seems. The dog was sent home with a good Samaritan who left his phone number and address with the staging area.

The dog was reunited with the owner shortly later, Bieri said.